Cold Pursuit
2019 · Directed by Hans Petter Moland
Original language: English
- crime
- action
- drama
The story
The quiet family life of Nels Coxman, a snowplow driver, is upended after his son's murder. Nels begins a vengeful hunt for Viking, the drug lord he holds responsible for the killing, eliminating Viking's associates one by one. As Nels draws closer to Viking, his actions bring even more unexpected and violent consequences, as he proves that revenge is all in the execution.
What it’s like
Snow-blanketed mountain roads, pale white daylight, and a stark, wintry palette of grey, blue-white and rust-red that makes the Colorado landscape feel vast and indifferent. Director Hans Petter Moland frames much of it with wide, cold establishing shots and clean, deliberately flat compositions, while the violence arrives in sudden bursts of gunfire against the hush of falling snow. The score leans on pulsing synth and low drones, with long stretches of near silence between set pieces. The mood is dark, bleakly comic, and sardonic, a cold-climate revenge story that keeps undercutting its own grimness with deadpan absurdity and a sympathetic, almost gentle portrait of its grieving protagonist. Pacing is brisk and episodic, the arc of a mild-mannered man hardening into something much more dangerous. Violence is frequent and often graphic, with shootings and bloody deaths, though much of it plays for dark laughs rather than dread. Recommended for viewers who enjoy black comedy and icy crime thrillers, and for anyone who wants a revenge film with a wry, unhurried sense of humor.
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